Payroll services firm ADP released its monthly employment report on June 30, and the results were disappointing.
The private sector created just 13,000 jobs in June - far fewer than the 65,000 that economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected. In a Bloomberg poll, economists anticipated that at least 23,000 jobs would be created during the month.
Surprisingly, the ADP report did not ding stock prices too badly. Following the Dow's 268-point drop on June 29, the market may have been anticipating weak job numbers. And investors may be waiting for Friday - when the Labor Department releases its jobs data for June - to make more definitive conclusions about the nation's employment picture.
Yet the ADP figures hint at a troubling trend: that the U.S. economy may not be on the speedy road to recovery that many had predicted. Home buying activity cratered after the homebuyer tax credi expired, consumer confidence is on the decline, retail sales are weak and consumer spending is growing at a snail's pace.
There are green shoots: Industrial output rose in May, air travel is on the rise and the initial public offering market may be showing signs of life. But if the ADP report shows anything, it's that the recovery will continue to be slow.
